More information about Singapore is available on the Singapore Country Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-SINGAPORE RELATIONS

The United States recognized Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965 and has had formal diplomatic relations with Singapore since 1966. The United States and Singapore have a comprehensive relationship with productive cooperation on economic, political, and security issues. Singapore's support for regional cooperation harmonizes with U.S. policy in the region, forming a solid basis for amicable relations between the two countries. In early 2012, the United States and Singapore held the first meeting of their Strategic Partnership Dialogue, followed by a ministerial meeting that introduced new mechanisms to further strengthen partnership and cooperation for the benefit of the Asia-Pacific region, including the Third Country Training Program (TCTP), a joint technical assistance program for developing countries. TCTP projects have been ongoing since 2012 and focused on training officials in the sub-Mekong region in the areas of environment, health, urban planning, and disaster management. The second Strategic Partnership Dialogue was held in Singapore on January 27, 2014 and the third will take place in Washington on February 12, 2015.

There are a large number of Americans living in Singapore with approximately 3,600 U.S. companies established in the country, a large number of which use Singapore as their regional headquarters. Many Singaporeans visit and study in the United States. The U.S. Government sponsors visitors from Singapore each year under the International Visitor Program; provides Fulbright awards to enable selected American professors to teach or conduct research at the National University of Singapore and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; awards scholarships to outstanding Singaporean students for graduate studies at American universities and to American students to study in Singapore; and sponsors programs related to American culture in Singapore. The East-West Center and private American organizations, such as the Asia and Ford Foundations, also fund exchanges involving Singaporeans.

U.S. Assistance to Singapore

The EXBS program has been active in Singapore since 2003 and has provided over $2 million in technical exchanges and assistance. EXBS’ goals in Singapore are to encourage active targeting and enforcement of export controls, full compliance with the four multilateral export control regimes, and cooperation on counter-proliferation prosecution and investigation matters. EXBS assistance for Singapore in 2014 totaled $250,000..

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States has a bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore, which entered into force in 2004. Since that time, bilateral trade has increased over 50%, reaching $49 billion in goods trade in 2013. The two countries participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations that seek to develop a regional trade agreement. The United States is Singapore's largest foreign investor, with U.S. investments reaching $154 billion in 2013. Singapore is a visa waiver program country, which allows its nationals to travel to the United States for certain business or tourism purposes for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Singapore's Membership in International Organizations

Singapore and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, ASEAN Regional Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.